Google’s fund that invests in budding companies said Thursday it will start a $100 million fund in Europe, making official a long-rumored move.

The pot of money is smaller than many other funds operated by investors such as Index Ventures and Balderton Capital, but deep-pocketed search giant described this as “initial funding”

In a blog post, Google Venture’s managing partner Bill Maris said the European arm would be similar to the group’s mission in the U.S.: help identify and guide entrepreneurs with great ideas. He said startups need more than just money, they need “engineering support, design expertise, and guidance with recruiting, marketing.”

The fund is working with with more than 250 companies, Maris said, including Nest Labs, which it acquired earlier this year for $3.2 billion, Uber Technologies and Blue Bottle Coffee.